The Kentucky Wildcats suffered a disappointing exit from the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament in their opening game.
Despite being the No. 3 seed in the South Region, Kentucky was upset by No. 14 seed Oakland University, falling with the final score of 80-76 in the first round on Thursday, March 21, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari appeared to attribute the team's loss to their players' lack of experience under the bright lights of the tournament.
"We made some critical mistakes at critical times again today. When you have a really young team and look at where the mistakes come from, they were freshmen," the 65-year-old tactician said.
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Kentucky has now been eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament in two out of the last three years, following an 85-79 overtime loss to No. 15 seed Saint Peter's in the 2022 tournament.
Jack Gohlke leads Oakland in stunning victory
Senior guard Jack Gohlke propelled the Golden Grizzlies to their first NCAA tournament win, tallying 32 points with an impressive performance from beyond the arc by sinking ten three-pointers.
Notably, all of his 20 field goal attempts were from deep, along with two out of three successful free throws.
"I know I'm not going to the NBA, [but] I can compete with those type of guys," he said at the post-game interview.
The 24-year-old has equaled the second-highest number of three-pointers made in an NCAA tournament game.
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